Whether you###re a do-it-yourself homeowner planning a kitchen renovation or a professional interior designer, Kris Hanson and partner Scott Brooks have created a website to save you time and expand your choices. From a resource section showcasing hundreds of products and providers to a marketplace exchange, Hanson has big ideas for
http://www.idideas.com/. (That###s short for Interior Design ideas.) The website should be fully operational in January 2004; until then users can access the site for free.
"I###d been in interior design with a large firm for 10 years, and when I went out on my own I realized how efficient and effective you have to be with your time to please your clients," says Hanson. "My partner and I started brainstorming about how we could make it faster and easier for designers and others to get their jobs done, while at the same time putting up wonderful resources they might not know about, that they can access right at the tip of their fingers."
The site###s Concepts section will feature more than 5,000 photos. Users can type in a keyword such as fireplaces, and view a wide range of designs without having to leaf through countless magazines. "These are high-quality, of-the-moment design photos," notes Hanson.
The Exchange will offer a way for designers, who are frequently left with extra items or client-rejected items after a job, to offer them for sale at reduced cost. "It###s like a high-end garage sale," says Hanson.
"For non-designers, probably the neatest section will be our Tips section, which will discuss issues such as how high you should hang a chandelier above a dining room table."
It can take years for a designer, let alone a non-designer, to build up a library of resources, and they still might lack the right thing for one particular project, notes Hanson. "On idideas.com, people will be able to find amazing things they might not have otherwise have known about."
Hanson spent the summer of 2003 traveling the East Coast meeting with artists, artisans, furniture makers and other product providers. "That###s who will start the resource base, and by our official launch in January we should have close to 300 resources."
Hanson estimates the subscription-based website will cost members about $20 to $30 per month to have access to all the resources. Membership is not required to purchase items from the exchange.
For more information, go to http://www.idideas.com/.